Part 1
Part 2

Case 28 - Starting Over Part 3


    Keiko walked through the Garden City central bus terminal carrying a duffel bag.  She arrived early, because in any situation as unstable as trading money for a kidnap victim, she wanted an opportunity to survey the location in case of problems.

    Earlier, Ron brought her to meet a distraught well-to-do family.  They had one of those Garden City homes where you drive up to a gate and you’re let in by one of the house staff, which, when counted, usually outnumbered the family.  Their youngest daughter had been snatched on the way out of her private school, and was being held for ransom.  Of course, the kidnappers specified a trade of a certain amount of cash in a neutral place, and no cops.

    Originally, the father was supposed to do the trade.  But after consulting with Ron, he was convinced that the emotional pressure could cause something to go wrong.  Ron offered to exchange the money, a task he delegated to Keiko - because, as he said, he’s getting too slow for that at his age.

    The kidnappers called on a cell phone sent in an envelope about an hour ago.  They said they wanted the money to be brought personally, in two hours, to the bus terminal in front of the departures board.  After the money was delivered, the cell phone would be called back and they would say which bus to board, and which stop to meet with the young girl.

    They were professionals.  That worried Keiko a little bit, because they wouldn’t be quick to underestimate her.  She would have to stick to their plan for now, until the child was safe, and then figure out how to catch up with them later.

    The central bus terminal was over-built simply because while it currently connected commuter city bus service with regional bus service and national transportation buses, it was also originally intended to include rail lines that were never added.

    The bus terminal wasn’t very busy.  There were a few people walking around or sitting on the benches, but so little activity that the rain just starting could be heard from the roof above.  The upstairs area mostly had small shops like a new vendor and a shoe shine.  Keiko sat at a table near the railing on the second level, owned by a coffee shop, overlooking the lower level.  She placed the duffel bag under the table at her feet, so she could still feel it nearby but nobody could see it easily.

    She looked across at the departures board, taking note of the list of buses leaving in about two hours.  There was a flaw in the kidnapper’s plan.  They specified she was to board a certain bus and get off after a certain number of stops.  They didn’t say she couldn’t simply ask the driver where that stop was and go by car.  And it’s unlikely they would watch her - they would want to be far away with the money by then.

    A while later, while Keiko enjoyed a coffee, four ski-masked men entered the train station and began looking around as if they were searching for someone rather than for a bus.  They didn’t even take a look at the departures board.  Keiko knew that was her cue - she stood slowly and picked up the duffel bag, carrying it low to maintain the element of surprise.

    She calmly walked over to the departures board and dropped the duffel bag at her feet.  That seemed to get the attention of the four men.  Two of them casually left the station.  One remained where he was, and the last approached Keiko cautiously.

    That last man picked up the duffel bag, keeping an eye on Keiko the entire time.  He handed Keiko a small pre-paid cell phone with a gloved hand, in exchange for the bag, and then he walked away quickly.

    A minute or two later the phone beeped.  A text message was on the screen, it said ‘Bus 6, 2nd stop’.

    The number six was just about to leave.  Once Keiko made sure all four men were no longer in the station she raced to the bus, in order to talk to the driver without having to actually board it.

    Fortunately she wouldn’t get soaked between the station and the bus.  The boarding area for the buses was covered, only each end was open.  There were garage doors that closed in the winter to keep the boarding area from getting too cold but they were open because of warmer weather.

    Keiko leapt aboard the number six bus quickly and placed one hand on the fare counter.  “Excuse me,”  she said quickly.  “What’s the second stop for this bus?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The mall,”  the driver replied.  “West entrance.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Thank you.”  She nodded and nearly got off the bus.  Then she realized that the mall was a big place, and it was possible she could only see where the kidnap victim was if she arrived by bus.  So she dropped some change in and quietly sat down.


---


    The mall wasn’t that far.  She got there in about twenty minutes.  An eternity when she was that nervous.  The whole deal could still fall through if the kidnappers decide not to deliver, if the whole trip to the mall was a wild goose chase.

    She left the bus as soon as it stopped in front of the mall, and she quickly moved under the sheltered area just in front of the doors so she could look around without being soaked by rain.  Nothing out there seemed unusual for a mall, so she went inside and started looking for anything unusual at the coffee shop or the bookstore there.  One of those theme restaurants were there as well.

    On instinct Keiko walked into the theme restaurant.  “Is there a young girl waiting here alone?”  she asked the receptionist.

    The receptionist took a stroll through the dining room and returned a couple minutes later.  “Yes, there is.  We were thinking about calling the cops--”  she stopped talking suddenly and quickly changed tone.  “But you can’t be her relative, so shouldn’t...how did you know...?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I was hired by a kidnapped girl’s parents to find her,”  Keiko told her.  “It’s safe to call the police if you wish.  As long as you keep the child in sight until the parents arrive.”  Keiko glanced past the podium at the entrance.  “I will wait at the bar and have some ice cream.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Um...okay.”  The receptionist quickly picked up the phone and called for the manager to relay the information.

    Keiko was just finishing her ice cream when she heard someone walk up behind her.  “It took you long enough to get here,”  she said.  She slowly turned around and looked up at Sean.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How did you know they would call the police?”  he asked.

    She smiled and offered him a taste of the ice cream.  “Don’t they always?”

    He shrugged and turned down the ice cream.  “The kid’s headed home to her parents,”  he said.  “Officers are going to be posted at their house until the kidnappers are found and caught.  But--”  he sat at the table across from Keiko so he could quietly ask, “Doesn’t this screw up whatever you’re working on?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No,”  she replied with a slight laugh.  “It means I no longer have to be careful.  The child and her family will be safe and I can pursue the kidnappers my way.”

    Sean thought about warning Keiko about that.  But then he could see the look in her eyes, a mixture of anger toward the kidnappers, and fear for the child and her family.  She’d let the child’s kidnapping get to her emotionally, something she had never allowed herself to do working as an assassin.  He knew what she would say before she even said it.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have to make them understand,”  she spoke purposefully, “they can’t get away with this.  That they can never do this again.”

    At that point Sean smiled.  Maybe they were working different sides of the legal system, but at heart he and Keiko had the same goal in mind.  “Just be careful,”  Sean said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I will.”  She smiled too, and then slid out of the chair at the bar.  She glanced back at him just before leaving.  She had a lesson to teach...but this time, she would at least try to teach it without making things difficult for Sean.



TO BE CONTINUED



-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- World Class and all characters therein are property of 
--    Strike Two and Jason Froikin.